The Dodgers' Yasiel Puig celebrates a first-inning single against the Arizona Diamondbacks Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium. KEVIN SULLIVAN, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

LOS ANGELES – With an unknown number of October innings in their future, the Dodgers are taking steps to make September a little easier for the left side of their bullpen.

Left-hander Onelki Garcia was added to the roster Wednesday to “protect” lefty relievers Paco Rodriguez and J.P. Howell from overwork, as Dodgers manager Don Mattingly put it. Garcia entered in the ninth and walked the only batter he faced on four pitches.

“We have to make sure we have enough protection for Paco and J.P.,” Mattingly said. “We’ve talked about how our left-handers in the bullpen aren’t really power guys. Power guys seem to get stronger as the season goes on. Finesse guys you worry more about.

“Onelki will hopefully be able to take a little pressure off those guys as far as usage. And it gives him a little experience. He was coming on at the end. Our scouts were talking about him. This gives him a little taste of what’s going on here.”

Mattingly said Garcia was not a candidate for the postseason roster unless “something happens to one of your lefties – then you start talking about different options.”

“If he was going to be a candidate, we would have had him here right away (when rosters expanded Sept. 1),” Mattingly said.

Like Yasiel Puig, Garcia defected from Cuba (in 2011) but he arrived in the United States with less fanfare – and more questionable documentation. While Major League Baseball debated whether to make him go through the draft or grant him free agency, Garcia, a veteran of three seasons in Cuba’s top league, pitched in an adult league in Southern California.

Eventually drafted by the Dodgers in the third round last season, Garcia had knee problems this spring that slowed his arrival at Double-A Chattanooga.

Garcia, 24, held hitters to a .215 average while striking out 53 in 521/3 innings with a 2.75 ERA over 25 appearances including six starts at Chattanooga. The Dodgers now see him exclusively as a reliever and Garcia earned an August promotion to Triple-A, where he finished the season, striking out 14 in 92/3 innings.

“We had to wait so he could get healthy,” Dodgers vice-president for player development DeJon Watson said of Garcia, rated the seventh-best prospect in the Dodgers’ system by Baseball America before the 2013 season.

“We see a lot of upside for him. His delivery is clean. His fastball sits 92 to 96 (mph) and he has a plus-plus breaking ball.”

Rodriguez, meanwhile, is among the league leaders with 70 appearances this season, his first full season as a professional, and there have been signs of fatigue recently. Over his past three appearances, 6 of 11 batters Rodriguez has faced reached base (three hits, three walks) and Mattingly admitted last week he had some concerns about overworking the 22-year-old.

KEMP PROGRESS

Matt Kemp continued to hit in simulated games at the Dodgers’ training complex in Arizona. According to Mattingly, his at-bats have been “very good.” Kemp was hitless in 19 plate appearances on a rehab assignment with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga before going to Arizona when the minor league season ended.

“His OPS is 1.500 in Arizona,” Mattingly said jokingly.

Kemp also ran Wednesday on an anti-gravity treadmill that carries some of the runner’s body weight. The running was the first Kemp has done since straining his hamstring last week.

NOTES

Garcia will wear uniform number 98. He is the first player to wear 98 since the Dodgers began wearing numbers on their jerseys in 1932. …

Left-hander Chris Capuano did some light throwing off the bullpen mound and is expected to throw a full bullpen session Thursday. Right-hander Edinson Volquez is penciled in as the Dodgers’ starter Sunday against the San Francisco Giants. But Capuano could be ready to return from his mild groin strain by then. …

To clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Garcia, right-hander Shawn Tolleson was moved to the 60-day DL.

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